Ordinary Girl
by LyricsArePoetry
Summary: Sequel to Homecoming Queen. Can Miley and Lilly save their friendship or has Hannah come between then forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Angelmail; SillyxxxDance; Paula545; Sassy1515, pokemon4eva; xXBoondocks4EverXx; Yep; Joske432; Forkz94; Mama bear and her cubs; Bella-Swan1; Azula****'****sflame415; and … (unnamed reviewer) ****You all asked for a sequel so here it is, I hope it****'****s worth the wait. The long need talk between Miley and Lilly! I'm going to try and update weekly but no guarantees. **

**All The Way Up  
Chapter One:**

Lilly couldn't bare to stay on the stage, everyone was in a stunned silence and Miley was still looking directly at her. Her ex-best friend's green eyes seem to pierce right through her, making Lilly feel like she had done something wrong though she knew she hadn't. There was a look of pure desperation on Miley's face, telling Lilly what she knew as soon as she stopped singing: Miley finally understood. But she couldn't bare to stay stood there in front of the whole school and quickly left through the back of the stage; the same way she'd come in just a few minutes earlier.

Lilly entered the first classroom she got to and took a seat at on of the desks at the back. She hadn't thought this far ahead. She'd only thought up until getting on the stage and singing. She hadn't thought through what would happened afterwards and what she would do. She tried to get her mind clear but she knew there was nothing she could do until she went back out there and face the school. She could only hope that everyone didn't hate her because of this. She stood up, having been sat down for less than a minute and headed towards the door.

She was halfway between the back of the classroom and the classroom door when the door opened and she froze. Miley came in nervously and shut the door behind her. Lilly stayed exactly where she was, she didn't know what to do or say so she didn't say anything. Miley stopped a few desks in front of her, seeming to be just as nervous as Lilly was.

'Lilly' Miley said and Lilly realised it was the first thing Miley had said directly to her since their petty argument months ago. Miley looked around the classroom as if wondering what to say. After a moment or so of silence, Miley finally spoke again 'When did you learn to sing? You were amazing'

'Wow' Lilly said, sarcastically, 'Thanks Hannah. That's, like, such an amazing compliment coming from you. Wow!' As she spoke she placed her hands on her heart for dramatic effect. She regretting the sarcasm when she saw the hurt of Miley's face

'Do you really hate me?' Miley asked, quietly, dreading the answer.

'I don't hate _you _Miley' Lilly replied honestly.

'But?' Miley pressed.

'I hate Hannah Montana' Lilly said, voicing her true feelings for the first time. 'She destroyed our friendship'

'How…' Miley said, trying to get her head around what Lilly was saying. 'What d'you… How can you say you don't hate me but you hate Hannah. I _am _Hannah Montana'

'I KNOW THAT!' Lilly hadn't meant to shout, it just happened. 'God knows I know it. God knows, Miley, all of Malibu knows it and that's all anyone cares about. We have one stupid argument when your secret's out and you never talk to me again. Hannah Montana ruined everything that was great abut our friendship. Hannah Montana ruined everything that was good about school and the beach. I wish you had never become Hannah Montana'

'You wish I'd never had the best thing that ever happened to me? Do you have any idea how selfish that is?' Miley replied. 'Hannah has been great for me, because of Hannah I've been more successful than a lot of people get to be in their whole lives and I'm only 17. It's amazing for me and you _wish _that had never happened? Why? Just because you didn't like it when everyone knew?'

'You changed' Lilly insisted. 'When you're secret was out you changed to be accepted. You're a hypocrite. Everyone wanted to be friends with Hannah Montana not you, so you became an airhead and a diva. Hannah sung about how you should be yourself and be a good person and how to be a "true friends" your lyrics mean nothing. There nothing to you in real life.'

'Music is everything to me' Miley replied defiantly. 'Don't you dare pretend you understand what me and music is. You think you can have a few singing lessons, get an amazing voice and that suddenly you understand what it's like to live for music? You don't have a clue. Hannah Montana and Miley Stewart are the same person. I thought that that secret coming out would be the worst thing ever, but it turns out it's been great.'

'Great? What's been great about it? You've destroyed your friendships with me and Oliver, you're destroyed the relationship you had with your brother and your Dad. You and Robby Ray were like that' Lilly crossed her fingers 'I was jealous of the relationship you had, it was amazing, and you just threw it away. You didn't care about what you did to anyone. Everyone loves you and you revealed in that. Acting the part, acting like Amber and Ashley and… whatever that other girl was called… were the best friends you ever had. You know nothing about the meaning of friendship'

'As least Amber and Ashley didn't just ignore me all the time' Miley retorted. 'At least they acted like I existed'

'I couldn't get near you' Lilly said. 'and even if I had I wouldn't have been able to talk to you because you wouldn't have listened'

'How do you know that when you never bothered to try?'

'I had people who didn't even know me calling me a cow because they thought I just used you for the fame. They said that in front of you but you didn't say anything. You didn't deny it and by not deny it, it's all they needed for it to be confirmed' Lilly said 'You said about Jake not knowing how to be a normal boy but you've forgotten how to be a normal girl. A normal girl doesn't expect everyone to drop everything and put them first because they're Hannah Montana. You wanted the best of both world and yet you destroyed that'

'_I _didn't destroy anything. The girl who announced it to the beach "ruined" it' Miley said. 'Nothing would've changed if she hadn't said anything'

'You're so clueless. Yes that girl revealed your secret but you're the one who made the decision to change. You're the one who made the decision to ruin everything you had and become one of the preppy popular ones because that's what's "in".

'Hannah's music suggests that she's down to earth and understands what it's like to be a real person in the real world. I loved that about it before and after I found out you were Hannah. I'm sorry' Lilly blinked back the tears that were forming in her eyes 'I'm sorry that despite the fact that we've been best friends since we were 6 that I'm now not good enough for you. Remember this though: All I ever did was treat you like the normal girl you always said you wanted to be.

'If you can't see how Hannah Montana has come between us, then maybe our friendship was never all I thought it was to begin with. I won't bother you again' Lilly ran out, leaving Miley staring after her.

* * *

**What? You didn't think I was going to have them make up in the first chapter did you? Please R&R**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Miley couldn't get Lilly's words out of her head as she walked back to the hall. As soon as she opened the doors everyone's eyes were on her. They wasn't a spotlight on her but she couldn't help thinking that there might as well be, she was centre of attention anyway. She ignored it – she was used to be centre of attention – and walked straight over to Amber and Ashley. The two girls looked at her suspiciously but Miley didn't bother to explain. There was no way she was going to explain anything when everyone was trying to listen in.

'Hannah sing' someone shouted. Miley looked around to see who it was but the voice was lost in the crowd as a number of people began to chant 'Sing! Sing! Sing! Sing!' The original voice spoke again 'Show us how a real star sings' Miley followed the voice that time as it came louder than the chanting. It was a boy from the year below her, she didn't know him, she'd only seen him around school.

_My name's Miley _she thought for the first time in ages. Lilly's words were really getting to her, she was wondering if Lilly had been right. She shook the thought away and got onto the stage. She couldn't help but notice Oliver, who was still sat at the music station, glare at her as she did so. Miley stood in front of the microphone holding onto it. 'I have a new song for y'all'

Everyone cheered. It was only now that Miley realised how much like one of Hannah's concert this was. She'd insisted to Lilly that Miley and Hannah were the same person, but didn't that in itself show that she was different? Miley and Hannah were supposed to be different that was the whole point of the best of both worlds.

'Come on Hannah' A voice in the crowd pulled Miley from her thoughts.

'It'll have to be without music' she explained. 'I have got my guitar with me and no one else knows the tune. It's called I'm still good'

Miley cleared her head after one final thought: _If Lilly is mad at me for adapting to the situation then she's not worth my time of day. _She held onto the microphone, closed her eyes and tapped her foot to the rhythm of the song. She was slightly nervous because she hadn't preformed this song to anyone other than her band but she opened her eyes as she opened her mouth and as soon as the words were out she was lost in the song.

_So I might slip again,  
Let it in now and then  
that don't mean anything  
I'm still good._

Miley imagined the music to the song in her head and continued on cue.

_I look around me, how did I get here  
Not part of my plan,  
I ended up with a situation  
wasn't in my hands_

Miley thought about what this song was about. She'd wrote it about her secret coming out. She was sure the majority of people here wouldn't get there. Just as she was sure that the majority of Hannah fans didn't know what the majority of Hannah's songs really really written about. Sometimes she wished she could explain it, but she knew hardly anyone was interesting in the meaning of it, they just wanted to listen to it.

_I think about it when I wanna give up  
How to keep going  
how to keep my chin up  
somehow I know I'm never gonna give up  
Never gonna give up_

Miley knew that being Hannah had made her stronger. Being Hannah had given her her dream. Being Hannah had been the best thing that had ever happened to her. Surely Lilly understood that? Lilly was her best friend after all... No, Lilly _had _been her best friend. Everything had changed, that much Lilly had been right on. But Lilly had been wrong on who was acting selfish.

_So I might slip again,  
Let it in now and then  
that don't mean anything  
I'm still good._

Lilly was outside the hall listening to Miley singing. She was in two minds about the song. She couldn't deny that it had a good tune and the lyrics seemed pretty good. But then, her mind added bitterly, everything Hannah Montana did was great, wasn't it? Lilly could guess what it was about, a situation out of Miley's control obviously had to be her secret coming out, the song was about how Miley made the best of it. Lilly laughed bitterly at that thought, how could this possibly be making the best of it.

_Trying to be my best  
When I fall it's a mess  
Pick myself up again, I'm still good  
Oooh, I'm still good, I'm still good_

Lilly couldn't help but think it was a little vain. Like Hannah Montana was great no matter what. She was always 'still good' but Lilly knew that was only the bitter side of her speaking. It wasn't like that, it was about getting up, dusting yourself off and moving on. Moving on... if only it was that easy.

_When days are like that  
And I can't shake 'em  
It's weighing on my mind  
So I'm just saying, I'm only human  
Life gets me down sometimes  
_

Miley wished she could get Lilly off her mind. She hadn't thought about Lilly once when writing this song, it wasn't about her in anyway. And yet Lilly's words were circling her mind now. It was stupid, she knew Lilly was wrong. Lilly thought Miley was acting differently, but surely the words to this song showed she was still the same person really?

_I think about it when I wanna give up  
How to keep going  
how to keep my chin up  
somehow I know I'm never gonna give up  
Never gonna give up_

Lilly didn't stay to listen to the rest of the song. Tears were pricking at her eyes and she didn't want to be crying at the school Homecoming Dance. She knew no one even knew she was still there, but that wasn't the point. She slipped out, the words of the song playing on her mind the whole way home.

* * *

**I changed the title of the story when I got the Hannah Montana forever CD. It's not out in Britain yet so it's helpful to have a friend who's been on holiday in America, isn't it XD. The title song and the song in this chapter are both from Hannah Montana Forever. Please R&R**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

That evening during the rest of the Homecoming Dance Miley moved around the crowd in a daze. She tooke little notice of who she was standing with and simply smiled and muttered a 'thanks' if anyone complimented her on the song. She couldn't say anymore because she was starting to doubt it - which was Lilly's fault. She made no comment for or against when people said anything about Lilly, and didn't answer when people asked her what happened when she followed Lilly.

Later than evening at home she said 'I hate Lilly but it's ok because she feeling's mutual and she decided to sing it to the whole dang school' when her Dad asked how the Dance had been.

Before Robby Ray had a change to reply she ran upstairs and into her bedroom. Like when her secret had first came out Miley hid in her closet, well Hannah's closet. She found herself thinking about three years back when Lilly first found out she was Hannah Montana. She remembered how much it hurt when Lilly had called her Hannah rather Miley. She remembered how Lilly had come back the next day to apologise. She remembered Lilly's exact words; _'I'm sorry I called you Hannah... You're my best friend, when I was sitting in my room all upset, you're the one I wanted to talk to. Not Hannah Montana'_ She remembered that she'd asked Lilly is she wanted to speak to Miley or Hannah before that. Back then Lilly and Miley both understood that Miley and Hannah were seperate. The problem now was Lilly couldn't understand that Miley had to pull them together, it was the only way to get through everyone knowing.

HM

Lilly was also thinking about the night she first found out Miley was Hannah. The truly ironic thing was that night Lilly had wanted to tell everyone that Miley was Hannah so they'd get popular. Lying on her bed Lilly could've laughed at the younger version of herself for being so stupid, but the fact was it wasn't funny. So much had changed since then. Then Lilly wanted people to knowand Miley didn't, now everyone did know and Miley seemed to be loving it while Lilly was hating it.

The worst thing was she didn't know what to do now. The truth was there was nothing she could do. She'd told Miley she'd leave her alone and she had to stick by that. She'd only keep getting hurt if she kept going back. The problem was it didn't stop hurting. She'd lost Miley, she knew that. It was all over now, she also knew that. There was no going back, no undoing it, nothing, she knew all of that. But it still hurt. As angry as she was with Miley she still loved her and still missed her.

As for the song. She didn't mean it and at the same time she meant every word. One thing she did know was she'd never be able to truly hate Miley.

HM

Miley didn't hate Lilly. She had just been confused and annoyed when she got home. Not that she was any less confused now, she just wasn't annoyed anymore. She was too tired to be annoyed. Tired of people not understanding. Tired because she'd spent the night on her feet. She was so confused that she was even doubting herself. Was her song really right, she was 'still good'? She didn't feel at all good right now.

She wanted to talk to someone. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and flicked it open. Only to flick it back down straight away. The only people she could ring would be Amber or Ashley and she knew neither of them would understand.

HM

When Lilly woke up the next morning she was surprisingly calm. The expression 'it all looks better after a good nights sleep came to mind'. She felt so relaxed and calm it was like nothing could bother her. She was sensible and avoided anything that could mention Hannah Montana by not putting the radio on, and putting a DVD in as soon as she put the TV on. A film with Orlando Bloom, nothing could look bad with Orlando Bloom on the screen. She stayed laying in bed while watching it.

HM

Miley woke up to find herself still in Hannah's closet. She wasn't sure why she thought of it like that 'Hannah's closet' it was _her _closet. She was Hannah, they were one and the same. She knew and had accepted that, so why she'd thought of it like that she didn't understand. She shrugged it off, it didn't matter. Sitting up she noticed she was still in the dress she'd warn to the dance. Her cell was flashes telling her she'd missed a call. She rubbed her eyes to try and wake herself up before checking it. Amber. she clicked to listen to the voice message that had been left.

'Hey Hannah' Miley winced at the start of it. She shouldn't have, Amber and Ashley - and practically everyone except her brother and Dad - called her Hannah more than they called her Miley. 'Are you ok? You disappeared quick once the dance was over? Did that cow Lilly say something to you? Well whatever it was don't listen to her, she's just jealous that you're better than her. Anyway, are we still on for tomorrow. You know party with the stars. Call me back, see ya'

Miley wasn't surprised at the message, it was exactly the sort of thing that Amber would leave. _And exactly the opposite of what Lilly would leave _a voice in her mind added. She didn't know why and she chose to ignore it to save confusion. The message annoyed her though, it shouldn't have, she was used to it, but it did. It was like she only wanted to be friends with Miley for the perks that came with it. _Which is exactly what Lilly was trying to tell you _the voice added.

'Ok you seriously need to shut up' Miley said out loud.

* * *

**Sorry it's been so long. Updates are going to be slow until Emily Osment brings out her new album. I only wrote this today because after watching HM all afternoon I was inspired. xD Please R&R, ly'all, Carly. x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

'Miley don't forget you've got a concert tonight' Robby Ray told her once she was dressed and downstairs. She froze halfway between the bottom of the stairs and the kitchen. She _had _forgotten.

'What am I singing?' she asked.

'I thought you'd want to choose. You need a few of the newer ones but it's mostly your choice' replied Robby Ray.

'Ok' she said and thought about it while getting out her breakfast. Once she was munching through cereal , she spoke between mouthfuls. 'I'm Still Good. It went down well last night so I guess it's time to give it its official debut. Mixed Up seems ideal right now' Robby Ray was about to cut in but Miley continued before he could. 'Just A Girl and... Every Part of Me'

'Happy songs, Miles' Robby Ray commented with a hint of sarcasm. 'Do you want to talk about it?'

'About what?' asked Miley, playing dumb.

'Last night' replied Robby Ray. 'You seemed pretty upset when you got back and the songs you're choosing are all identity crisis ones.'

'You wrote most of them' Miley counter attacked. 'I'm fine'

'Ok, let's start with something simpler' said Robby Ray. 'Why do you hate Lilly?'

With a sigh Miley replied 'I don't, I was just annoyed. I don't want to talk about it' it was partly true but mostly a lie. She wanted to tell her Dad what happened and take his advice but she knew what his advice would be and she didn't want to hear it right now. 'I just want to get through tonight's concert and... Oh, dang. I told Amber and Ashley I'd get them into a party tonight. I'll have to tell them I can't, I'll just... let them back stage at the concert'

'Miley, you know a friendship that's brought, isn't a friendship worth having' Robby Ray told her.'

'It's not brought' Miley insisted, having has this conversation a good few times before. 'I'm going back on what I promised so making amends for it. It's only fair. At least Amber and Ashley haven't been ignoring me since it came out. Unlike others I could mention'

'No, but Amber and Ashley didn't care when you were just Miley. They only want to be friends with Hannah.'

'Why does everyone keep talking like Miley and Hannah are different? I am Hannah Montana' Miley replied.

'You're the one who wanted to best of both worlds' Robby Ray commented.

'I haven't done anything wrong. I just adjusted to a bad situation. Why can't anyone accept that' Miley sighed, her mind slipping back to the dance. She also thought about before her secret came out. Lilly and her Dad couldn't be right, she hadn't changed that much. It was necessary. Was it too much though? She hadn't meant to. She had just wanted to get through it; she didn't want to have to hide. 'Daddy' she said, waiting for Robby Ray to look at her and added 'I'm sorry' to Robby Ray's confused face she added 'I've been such a cow. Going around like I'm better than everyone else. I'm not, if anything I'm worse. I'm sorry'

'It's all right, darlin'. Now, you going to tell me what happened at that dance last night?'

Miley spent a moment staring at the now empty bowl before taking a deep breath and starting. 'Lilly sang. She was amazing but the song... the song was called "I Hate the Homecoming Queen". It was about a stuck-up girl who's nothing but trouble. It was about me. Well it was about Hannah. I followed her off the stage and ended up having a huge argument with her. The fact is she doesn't understand that I just responded to...' Miley stopped and shook her head. 'She doesn't understand. The song was so harsh but thinking about it, it was probably true. I can't get it out of my head.' Miley demonstrated it 'I hate the homecoming queen, I'm pretty damn sure she can't stand me, her face is on the cover of a magazine. I hate the homecoming queen tonight. That's right'

'I think you need to talk to her, Miley'

'I can't. She said she won't bother me again. She thinks that's what I want'

'Is it?' Robby Ray asked.

'I... I don't know' Miley admitted. 'I don't think so but so much has changed. It's all so complicated and it's my own fault'

* * *

Lilly switched the TV off after the film finished and stared at the wall of her bedroom. After only a few minutes the dance was in her mind again. She grabbed a notebook and spent most of the morning writing lyrics. In the afternoon she went to Oliver's to put music to it. By 5 o'clock 'One of Those Days' was finished.

'From the top' Oliver said and started the introduction.

Lilly smiled slightly before starting:

**Woke up to the sound of my alarm  
Half an hour late  
Fell out of bed, I put my t-shirt on  
It's got an orange stain  
I lost my keys, I lost my head  
I wish that I just stayed in bed  
I need a break, a sweet escape**

**It's just one of the days  
One of those days you wanna crawl into a cave  
****I wish it could be tomorrow or even yesterday**  
**Out of my way cause I think I might go insane**  
**It's just one of those days, one of those days**

**Tripping out the front door**  
**Traffic jam, now my cell phone's dead**  
**I had to say I'm sorry more than once**  
**Forgot lunch with my friends**  
**Missed a stop sign, my Starbucks line**  
**I only got pennies and I need a dime**  
**I saw my ex and met his girlfriends**

**It's just one of the days**  
**One of those days you wanna crawl into a cave**  
**I wish it could be tomorrow or even yesterday**  
**Out of my way cause I think I might go insane**  
**Hey hey, it's just one of those days**

**Wish I could jump ahead in time**  
**Leave this drama far behind**  
**Let me out before I lose my mind**  
**Yeah, I just wanna get away**  
**Find myself a holiday**  
**I swear, I'm going crazy**  
**Back off, I'm about to break**  
**Don't know how much more I can take**

**It's just one of the days**  
**One of those days you wanna crawl into a cave**  
**I wish it could be tomorrow or even yesterday**  
**Out of my way cause I think I might go insane**

**It's just one of the days**  
**One of those days you wanna crawl into a cave**  
**I wish it could be tomorrow or even yesterday**  
**Out of my way cause I think I might go insane**  
**Hey hey, it's just one of those days**  
**It's just one of those days, one of those days**

'Brilliant' Oliver said. 'Hey Lil, I need to tell you something'

'That can't be good. The way everything is going at the moment, that can't be good' Lilly said, sounding a little paranoid. 'What's up?'

'I'm leaving' Oliver said. 'At...'

'What do you mean _leaving?' _Lilly shrieked, staring at him in horror.

'At the end of the school year, I'm going on tour with the band' Oliver explained. 'I leave the Saturday after the end of the semester.'

'No. You can't go' Lilly said.

'Lilly, let me finish' Oliver said. Lilly just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. 'I want you to come with me.'

'Go with you?' Lilly repeated, not quite believing it. Oliver nodded 'On tour?' He nodded again. 'Eep' Lilly threw her arms around him; 'Of course I'll come with you' she bounced around 'I'm getting out of here!'

**A/N: Thanks for everyone who's sticking with me, despite slow updates. I'm back at college now so I don't know when I'll be able to update next, but hopefully it won't be too long. Please R&R, ly'all Carly.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm so sorry. I don't even have an excuse for being **_**this **_**long not really. But I will blame coursework, the winter and people. :P! Please R&R, show me I didn't make you give up. Ly'all Carly.**

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**Chapter 5:**

Lilly couldn't help but feeling more relaxed about everything now she knew she was going to be leaving in just over a month. Anything that happened didn't matter because getting away from it all was no longer a distant dream but a soon-to-be reality. Despite that though walking into school the Monday after the Homecoming Dance wasn't easy. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, part of her wished Oliver was with her just for the support but the bigger part of her was glad he wasn't. She needed to be able to face these situations on her own.

'You're such a cow, Truscott' Lilly didn't bother looking to see who the comment came from. More comments of similar wording came from all around her. She was struggling to ignore them. She knew if she didn't get to the classroom where a teacher would shut them up soon she would freak on them.

'Oh no you don't' Lilly didn't recognise the girl who stood in front of her. She didn't care who it was either. The girl stepped right in the way when Lilly tried to step passed. 'You're not just walking away from this one, Lilly. What gives you the right to be such a bitch to Hannah Montana? Oh and FYI she's a million times better sing than you will _ever _be, so don't kid yourself you could ever be good. No one liked your singing'

Lilly didn't rise to the bait, although it was an effort not to. A number of comebacks came to mind but she bit back each one. She had to be the better person in this or she had nothing.

'What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or does the truth hurt?' The girl asked.

'Look' Lilly started but she stopped when someone else started to speak.

'Can't y'all just leave her alone' Miley said. Lilly tried to keep the shock off of her face. She didn't look at Miley, she didn't look at the girl who was stopping her passing, she avoiding looking at anyone. Miley continued 'Don't of you have the first clue what you're talking about or what's going on so just stay the hell out of it and leave Lilly alone'

'Where you not there on Saturday, Hannah?' the girl asked. It was a stupid question but she got her point across 'Did you not hear what this cow sang about you. If singing is what you can call it' that got a couple of sniggers

'Andrea, Lilly had an amazing voice,' Miley looked around 'None of you can deny that. Yeah I was there, so I know how you were all shocked into silence at Lilly's singing, so don't try and deny that now. Music is about expression and being yourself and that's what Lilly did with it. She just expressed what she was feeling, there's nothing wrong with that. She singing is no different to me singing'

'Except you're a hell of a lot better and actually got somewhere with it which she never will' the girl who Lilly now knew to be Andrea said.

'Grow up!' Miley was close to shouting by now. 'Look I can't stop what y'all thinking, whatever, but just grow up and leave Lilly alone. You got that?'

In the past Lilly knew no one would have listened to Miley, but she wasn't Miley anymore, she was Hannah Montana so everyone listened. A few people muttered in agreement and slowly everyone walked away to their lessons. Lilly found herself frozen on the spot in shock as everyone left. Once most people had gone she came to her senses and started to walk away.

'You could at least say thank you' Miley muttered, loud enough to be heard.

Lilly turned back to her 'You have got to be kidding me.' She said 'No, _Hannah, _I won't say thank you, I don't need to sticking up for me. I can stand up for myself. Take your own advice and just leave me alone'

'My name's Miley' replied Miley.

'Yeah?' Lilly said. 'Tell that to the rest of the school. I'm not taking your double talk anymore, Miley. I can't take it. I'm just getting through this semester and then getting out of here. The sooner the better'

'What do you mean?' Miley asked.

'You lost the right to know about my life a long time ago, Miley' Lilly replied and walked to class. This time Miley let her walk away, too lost in thought to stop her. It dawned on her that Lilly was serious, their friendship was dead in the ground and Miley wasn't sure how she could revive it.

In class Lilly was trying to ignore her confusion to concentrate on the lesson. After 15 minutes she gave up on the lesson and tuned out, she was listening just enough to be able to answer if she was called on. She tried doodling but when she realised her page consisted of a blonde girl next to booing fans she stopped, choosing instead to make notes for a new song. _All I get from you is double talk _she wrote _I wish we could still be friends. _She wasn't sure if it was going anywhere but she kept writing anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N so I finally brought Emily's album 'Fight of Flight' which is helpful, so a big thanks to Angel who convinced me to buy it and recommended a song from it to use, which will come into this. The only problem is I don't have the Hannah Montana Forever soundtrack on my iTunes anymore and I can't find the CD so I'm relying on youtube to get those songs which is annoying. Anyway I just saw Hannah Montana Forever: I'll Always Remember You for the second time, how annoying is that ending? Still it's calling for fanfics for **_**what happened next**_**. No that wasn't really related to this fic but never mind. I need to give a big thank you to Paula because she gave me an idea which has helped this story dramatically, I also want to thank everyone who's still reading and reviewing despite my lack of updates, it means the world to me. And to the person who reviewed saying the last chapter was too short, it was just under 1000 which is my average, but this one's longer for you. One more thing, if you haven't heard Emily's Double Talk, go to youtube as soon as you have reviewed this chapter. Anyway, this is a long author's note so I'm going to shut up now and let you read the chapter. R&R, ly'all. **

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

Lilly found herself reflecting on how stupid the things that caused the end of hers and Miley's friendship were as she drafted her newest song. A heated argument which stretched on and then went way too far. She knew that most of wasn't caused by her or Miley but all the people around them but it was Miley's choice to act how she was. Or at least how she _had _been. They had been friends for years, they had gone through so much and remained friends, she had at one time thought nothing could come between. But now she knew she should have known better, _nothing lasts forever _that's what her Mom had always taught her.

**All I get from you is double double talk talk  
Every single day day, every word you say say  
When you move your mouth (mouth) that's all that comes out (out)  
just a lotta lotta double double talk talk**

Lilly knew the song was going to turn out extremely repetitive but that was all right. It would be intentional, it would be effective. Her first song, _I Don't Think About It, _had been repetitive and looking back at it now she knew it wasn't a good repetition. This time it would be though. She needed it to get her point across. She was writing about Miley saying one thing at one times and the opposite at another time. The word _double _meant twice, saying it twice had a _double _effect.

She found herself staring at the piece of paper for ages before she wrote any more. This song wasn't coming easily and Lilly couldn't be sure why. She knew exactly what she wanted to say, the words were circling her mind but she couldn't seem to find a way to get them onto the paper. In the end she wrote the verse again changing the words just slightly.

**All I get from you is double double talk talk  
every single time time, make me lose my mind mind  
When you move your lips (lip) all I'm hearing is (is)  
just a lotta double double talk double talk**

Lilly started chewing her pen lid as she thought about it. No one had ever taught her what was right and wrong about writing lyrics. No one had ever told her what worked and what didn't. She was glad about that because it meant her lyrics came out more real and true to herself. She had an idea in her mind of what worked and what didn't from songs she had listened to and from the amount of time she'd spent around Robby Ray and Miley. She was nervous about this song, more nervous than she had been about any other song she had written. Even more nervous than she had been when she wrote _I Hate The Homecoming Queen, _she wanted this song to work and she was thinking too hard about it. She knew for it to flow properly she needed to just write what she was feeling and not worry about whether it sounded right or not. Songs were meant to be about emotion first and foremost.

She stopped chewing her pen lid and started writing again. This time it wasn't the next part of the song, she knew she was going to have to fit it together once she had everything she wanted, but it was everything she was feeling put into four lines.

**I wish that I could trust you, once again  
I wish that I could count you as a friend  
Hit me with the truth, come on it's me  
I need some honesty, yeah honestly**

She knew to anyone who heard this song and didn't know everything that was behind that those lyrics wouldn't have seemed that emotive or powerful but she didn't care. They were to her, when she wrote _come on it's me _she couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes. She almost wished she hadn't reacted the way she had to Miley standing up for her. If she hadn't been quick with a smart comment and quick to have a go at Miley would they be somewhere else by now? Would they be talking? She shook her head, no, she couldn't think like that. She didn't need to feel bad about being annoyed with Miley. And she knew they wouldn't have been talking by now anyway, she wasn't sure they ever would be. And she was no long sure what she wanted regarding her. All she really knew was she wanted this to sort itself out with no more trouble but that wasn't likely. She added:

**Hey, hey, get your story straight, straight  
maybe hesitate, baby wait,  
'cause you know it's gonna blow up in your face face  
**

The last line wasn't so true, the chances of this blowing up in Miley's face was unlikely. And she didn't want it to. This blowing up in Miley's face would only cause more pain and problems for both of them and she didn't want that. Not for either of them.

It was over an hour before Lilly got the song lyrics together in a way she was happy with. And even then she wasn't sure about it. But she left them how they were, she knew that if she didn't she would just keep changing it and never just accept it. It was all right, it got her point across, it said everything she wasn't to say. That was what mattered, it expressed what she wanted to say.

* * *

Miley pulled a notebook out from the drawer of her bedside cabinet and started writing, wondering how it had come to writing in a diary rather than talking to someone.

_Dear Diary,  
How wrong does that sound? I've never kept a diary in my life. If I had something I needed to say before I just said it, I told someone whether it was good or bad. And if I couldn't say it to someone I would write it in a song. But now I can't do either of them. Whenever I try to write a song it ends up going no one. I can't get the emotion right or say what I want to say. _

_I haven't got much that I want to say, there's just a couple of things. Both of them sound so simple and yet they're so major to my life. They're separate but they're connected because if it wasn't for one I wouldn't need to say the other. Firstly I just want to tell the world that I'm an ordinary girl all that happened was my dream came true. I meant what I said today at school today, Lilly singing was no different to me singing, because music is music. It's emotion, it's expression. That's all I ever wanted, I wanted to be a rock star so I could tell the world exactly what I wanted to say and I'd got that. I never thought I'd make it as an international popstar, that was just beyond words. But it was still all about the music, it was always about the music. The music and getting my message out to the world. And now I'd lost that because I couldn't say what I had to say. The world still cared, the world would still listen, but I've learnt that everyone around me, everyone at school, on the beach, doesn't care about the words of my songs, they just care that they have Hannah Montana living in their town._

_The second thing I want to say, well really it feels like I need to say it. I need to say sorry to Lilly but I think it's too late. I don't think she'd listen now if I tried and if she did I don't think she'd accept it. To be honest I couldn't blame her if she didn't. I kidded myself for ages that I made the necessary changes to fit the bad situation but I didn't. I made the easy changed to fit the situation, I became what everyone wanted me to be. I went against everything Hannah Montana stood for because I was too scared to just be Miley. I actually managed to make myself think that I wasn't in the wrong, anyone who disagreed with me was. I was such a bitch to Lilly throughout it, I never did anything directly but I was aware of the comments that were being thrown in her direction and I never did anything about it. I can't believe I was stupid enough to hurt Lilly, and let our friendship become this. I stood up for her in the end, today, but it was too little, too late. I can't bare me and Lilly not talking, and it's worse knowing it's all my fault. I can't bare that I've lost my best friend, but what can I do about it? I _**have **_to do something. I can't let Lilly go on thinking I want her to leave me alone. I need to sort this end. I need to do something._

_You know, I never thought I'd think this, especially with how great the past few years have been, but I'm started to wonder if the best of both worlds was ever a good idea. Would it have been better if I'd chose one or the other? If I'd chose to just live a normal life me and Lilly would've always been friends and none of this had happened. If I'd chose to be famous me and Lilly would've stopped being friends a long time before her friendship started to mean so much to me and none of this would've happened. I know that becoming Hannah Montana was the right decision, it's lead to so many amazing things, things I wouldn't change for the world. But I wish I could go back and sort this out before it got this messy. I wish I could go back and stop everyone here finding out, or just change the way I acted when they did find out. I wish I had stopped trying to be Hannah when my true friend was happy with just Miley._

_But the past can't be undone can it? There's no way to stop pain that's already been caused. No way to undo all the pain I've caused to Lilly. I've got to live with knowing I've made my best friend's life hell. I just hope it's not too late to stop this in its track and pull it back into control. I just hope Lilly doesn't hate me. She did say she didn't hate Miley and I just want to be Miley. I want to go back to being Miley in everyday life and Hannah on the stage. I don't want this anymore. Can I put it write?_

_Miley._


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I just want to say my updates will probably be about once a month for a while because of coursework and original writing taking priority. It'll never be longer than a month though unless some sort of disaster strikes, like Exeter has a huge fire and the whole city burns and I'm too shocked/hurt/depressed to write. This chapter is the first time I've had Miley singing a non-Hannah Montana song, but it fits so it's still good :P R&R?**

**Chapter 7:**

Lilly was sorting out her bedroom simply because she had nothing better to do. Of course by _tidying _what she was really doing was moving things around and getting distracted by anything and everything that she found. Under her bed she found a screwed up piece of paper from when she hadn't long started writing songs. Opening it up she found she'd also scribbled it out, but it was still clear enough to see what it said. On one side:

_It's me looking back at you now  
You think you've got it figured out but  
You're so typical, you're so predictable now_

You're riding up the elevator  
Shirt tucked in right  
No space, head case  
Up against the street lights  
This is your world  
Walking high and mighty  
Got news for you and  
You ain't gonna like it  
A five second replay  
Yeah, this is what you look like

She flipped it over to read the other side:

_You're so predictable, yeah yeah  
You're so typical, you're so predictable, yea yea  
You're so typical, you're so predictable, yeah_

Heavy breath, crooked heart  
Shoes tied up straight  
Same old push and pull  
You got no time, you can't be late  
This is your life, breaking teeth for smiles  
One for the game, one just for the cycle  
Well, all those hours in the mirror  
The more you say I hope you hear

You're so predictable, yeah yeah  
You're so typical, you're so predictable, yea yea  
You're so typical, you're so predictable, yeah

She could remember writing it; it was a few weeks before the homecoming dance. She wrote it about wishing she could show Miley how she looked to the few people who didn't care that she was Hannah Montana. She wrote it about trying to explain how she'd become just like all those other pop stars. Lilly remembered how _one for the game _had been expressing that she understood Miley's need to change slightly to fit the situation she was thrown into, while _one for the cycle _was showing how Miley took it further than necessary.

Lilly screwed the piece of paper up again and threw it into the bin. She didn't plan to make anything of those lyrics, it didn't feel right anymore. Miley didn't seem that bad now and she didn't feel the way she did when she wrote it. It didn't need to be kept.

Lilly grabbed her skateboard for the first time in a while, left her room in the state it was in and headed to the skate park. As it always had skateboarding took Lilly's mind off of everything. The competitive edge she always felt in the stake park re-entered her. Even though she was the only one there she tried to be better and better. Faster, more difficult moves. Anything.

* * *

Miley sat cross legged on her bed and strummed her guitar. She sighed in frustration and took the pen out of her mouth only to stare at the blank piece of paper beside her. She looked, helplessly, around her room for inspiration, not holding much hope that she would find any there. Her eyes locked onto a picture of herself, Lilly and Oliver which was still stood on her chest of drawers and she strummed her guitar again.

_These four walls, they whisper to me  
they know a secret, I knew they would not keep.  
It didn't take long for it to get out._

She paused, wondering where to take that. She ran back over what she had only to cross out the last four words and replace them with _the room to fill with dust, _and continue with _and these four walls came down around us. _

Once she got started parts of songs quickly came to her. She found herself subtly writing an apology to Lilly in one verse:

_Yeah, it's difficult watching us fade  
Knowing it's all my fault my mistake  
Yeah, it's difficult letting you down  
Knowing it's all my fault  
you're not around_

While continuing to work with the idea of the four walls and breaking down in another

_It's hard now to let you be, I won't make excuses_

_I've made my peace  
didn't take long for me to lose the trust  
'Cause these four walls were not strong enough_

And after working out the chorus:

_Must have been something sent me out of my head  
__With the words so radical  
__And not what I meant  
__Now I wait for a break in the silence 'cause it's all that you left  
__Just me and these four walls again_

she managed to piece it all together. She ran through the whole song to check she was happy with it before allowing herself to relax and smile about it. Finally. Finally she had been able to write a song which said some of what she was feeling about the whole situation.

She dropped her guitar and after grabbing her bag bounced downstairs.

"Someone's happy" Robby Ray commented when he saw her.

"I wrote a song" Miley smiled. "I'm going for a walk to celebrate. See ya later" and she literally skipped out of the house.

Miley took the long way to the beach, to enjoy the cool breeze of the evening. She felt calm and relaxed as she walked along under the stars.

* * *

Lilly stayed at the skate park for a couple of hours only stopping once or twice to get her breath back. She ignored the fact that it had gotten dark and kept going, attempting moves she'd never succeeded with before. Which come the end became a bad idea as one misjudged angled caused her to slip and fall from the highest point of the tallest slope.

* * *

Miley approached the skate park just in time to hear Lilly scream…


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

Lilly has tried – and failed – to make herself land in the least painful way possibly. The helmet saved her from knocking herself unconscious while the knee pads and elbow pads did little to save other injuries. She landed on her feet part way down the ramp, only for her right leg to bend at an awkward angle and she got the biggest friction burn of her life as she slid to the bottom of it.

"Lilly" she heard Miley's panicked cry and saw her ex-best friend run towards her and silently cursed. _Of all the people. _Miley reached her and bent down beside her. "Lilly, are you all right?"

The pain shooting through her leg, which was till awkwardly bent, along with the fact that she was shaking from the shock of it stopped Lilly from insisted 'I'm fine'. Instead she looked up at Miley and shook her head, annoyed at herself more than anything. "I have _never _fallen before"

"First time for everything" Miley commented nervously. "I'm going to call an ambulance"

Lilly shook her head "There's no need" she tried to get up but putting any sort of weight on her leg was out of the question. She sat back down in frustration.

"I'm calling an ambulance" Miley repeated "You may have broken something or something and I'm not having my..." she stopped herself "I'm not have you just stay here, hurt. Now you can either be stubborn and whine about it or just accept it" Lilly didn't respond and Miley got her cell out and dialled 911 "Hey, I need at ambulance. Malibu. The skate park by near the beach. My friend's fallen and hurt her leg... My name's Miley Stewart, my friend's Lilly Truscott... please hurry"

"Why did you say that?" Lilly asked once Miley had hung up and put her cell away. The confused look on Miley's face told her she didn't understand so Lilly elaborated "'My friend'?"

"I thought it was a bit simpler than saying 'my ex-best friend who now hates me because my hug secret that I'm actually international pop sensation Hannah Montana got out and I was a complete bitch to her after it is called Lilly Truscott'"

Lilly almost laughed, except it wasn't funny. She just nodded to show she had heard, unsure what to say. After a moment in a silence neither of them could bear Miley said "I wrote a new song" it came out as excitable and proud as it had done when she told her Dad but this time as soon as she said it she became unsure "I mean… You're probably not interesting I just…"

"Let's hear it" Lilly replied.

"Really?" Miley checked,

Lilly nodded "Sure. I'm still a fan"

Miley began; _these four walls, they whisper to me. _Lilly listened carefully as Miley sung in a way Miley knew Amber or Ashley or anyone like that never would. Lilly was listening to the words and what they meant, not the fact that Hannah Montana was in front of her singing. She'd missed that, she realised, preforming her songs in front of Lilly and knowing Lilly would be honest about them.

By the time Miley finished Lilly couldn't stop the tears building up in her eyes. "It's brilliant" she said, she wanted to ask what it was written about, she wanted to tell Miley that she loved the use of the metaphor of the falling walls, she wanted to pick it apart and analyse it, she wanted to discuss it with Miley, it was one thing they both understood. The whole situation was awkward, part of her wanted to forget everything and just talk to Miley. She couldn't do that though, so she continued simply "And I'm not just saying that. It's very emotive"

Miley smiled slightly "Thanks" she replied, wanting to talk more about it but knowing Lilly was unlikely to want to hear it. They were both thankful that they didn't have to find another topic as the ambulance arrived.

The paramedics got the two girls to explain what had happened as they chocked over Lilly. They told them that it seemed likely that Lilly gad broken her leg due to the way she landed and after placing her on a stretcher they got her in the ambulance.

"I'll come with you" Miley said.

"No!" Lilly replied, her voice shaper than she meant it to be and she knew Miley would've taken it to mean she didn't want her there "I need you to tell my Mom what happened" she explained. Miley nodded and ran off towards Lilly's.

**A/N: Sorry it's so short, please R&R**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Miley ran straight to Lilly's house, pausing momentarily to catch her breath before knocking on the door. A pang of regret ran through her as she remembered a time when she would've just walked in, but she ignored it as Mrs Truscott opened the door. Lilly's Mom's expression when from shock at seeing Miley there to worry as Miley explained what happened. While part of her wanted to blame Miley for Lilly being distracted, looking at the worried and hurt expression on Miley's face she just couldn't.

She instantly grabbed her car keys and Miley went with her to the hospital. Miley rang her Dad on the way, who said he'd meet them there, but Miley said it would be fine, Lilly's Mom would bring her back. The car journey was awkwardly silent, it was clear Mrs Truscott was worried , maybe worried it would be worse than a broken leg, maybe worried how Lilly would react, or maybe worried about Miley going with her, Miley couldn't tell, but the worry was obvious and Mrs Truscott said nothing throughout the journey. Miley on the other hand just didn't know what to say to the Mom of her ex-best friend. She was even starting to wonder if going to the hospital was a good idea, she couldn't not go, though.

They reached the hospital and Miley went into the waiting room while Mrs Truscott found out what was going on. A minute or two later she came into the waiting room and told Miley that they could see Lilly but she wanted to go in on her own first, which Miley understood and accepted, while at the same time wishing wasn't the case. Sitting in the hospital waiting room on her own just gave her time to think. Whether she should be there or not, whether Lilly would want to see her, what she would do if Lilly didn't want to see her, what she should say if Lilly did want to see her, if Lilly did want to see here what would that mean, and a million and one other questions and worries circled her mind. Part of her wished she had taken her Dad up on his offer of meeting her here, while another part of her chided her for being so childish and told her to grow up and deal with her own problems. She had caused them herself after all.

After what felt like hours for was actually no more than 30 minutes, Mrs Truscott came out and told Miley she could go in. Miley walked out the waiting room after thanking Mrs Truscott but stopped before entering Lilly's room. She took a deep breath, _come on! _She told herself _you go out on stage regularly and sing to the world, but you can't talk to __Lilly__? _She sighed, plastered on a smile and walked in.

"Hi" she said, nerves entering her voice the second she opened her mouth. Lilly's leg was in plaster and raised slightly from the bed. "Broken?"

Lilly nodded "Can't wait to go to school and have long lines of people queuing up to sign it"

Miley flinched, she knew Lilly had every right to be bitter and sarcastic, but it still hurt.

"Sorry" Lilly added automatically and quickly. Her voice was genuine and Miley wondered why Lilly cared that she'd hurt her. Was there a part of Lilly who still wanted to be friends or was she reading too much into it when Lilly was just a decent person? She was unsure and she knew she couldn't ask. She went with what she could say:

"Don't apologise" she walked forward and took a seat on the chair beside the bed, looking at Lilly seriously before continuing. "I'm sorry, Lilly. I've been such a cow since everyone found out"

Lilly didn't reply and Miley was unsure whether it was because she didn't accept it or because she didn't know what to say.

"I just…" Miley gave up, just didn't know what to say to prove she meant it. She went back to the one subject which had seemed to bond them before. "You know These Four Walls? The song I sung before the ambulance arrived? I wrote that about you. Well us. Ok that just sounds creepy, like we were together or something, totally not what I meant. But…" Miley was acutely aware that she was rambling and that she was going nowhere and making no sense so she stopped and began again "It was about how the secret had come out when it had been hidden and how because of that and my reaction to it… Well no because of my reaction not because of it coming out, because I'm not blaming anyone else for this anymore… so because of me everything was ruined. And it's funny… well not _funny, _I mean like funny ironic not funny ha-ha..." she shook her head clearing yet another ramble "But yeah it's funny because anyone who hears it will think it's a love song, about a break up, but it's not and I think that's a problem. A lot of my fans, a lot of _Hannah's _fans" Miley understood now what Lilly had meant by _I don't hate you, I hate Hannah _"don't even care what it means. I hate that, but what I hate more is that I accepted it, I went along with it. I went against everything Hannah stood for because I was scared." Miley looked down, running her hands over her face, then tugging her hair behind her ears in a somewhat nervous movement before continuing "I'm sure you really don't care about any of this. I just… Dang, I had a lot to say considering I didn't even know what to say when I came in. I thought you wouldn't want to see me, but then you did and I was just like-"

"Miley, for the love of god shut up" Lilly finally interrupted.

Miley looked at her again, that had been no annoyance, no anger, nothing at all negative in her voice. She even noticed that Lilly was smiling. When Lilly saw Miley was looking at her she laughed, just slightly. The sound was so light and true that Miley couldn't help but smile.

"I swear you could talk for American" Lilly rolled her eyes. "It's all right" she stopped, her smile faded to a more neutral expression as she continued more seriously "Well it's not_ all right, _it's very much not all right, it's actually very wrong. But I mean, it's all right like you don't have to explain yourself. I understand"

"Do you?" Miley asked.

Lilly nodded "You made bad decisions and you reacted in the worst possible way, but I'm not you, Miley. I may be able to sing now, but you were right, at the homecoming dance, I don't know what it's like for you and music. It's a hobby for me, but I know it's everything for you. And I know you had to adapt. I can't honestly say I wouldn't have done the same thing if I were in your shoes, so really I have no right to judge you for what you did."

"Homecoming dance…" Miley whispered, remembering it. Definitely not a good memory "I didn't mean much of what I said at that dance. I was just angry. I'm sorry"

"So am I. I mean, I spent so long angry at you for ignoring me, and letting people bitch about me, but the fact is I was a complete bitch back." Lilly replied. "God only knows what I was thinking getting up on that stage and singing that"

"To be fair, it was a great song" Miley replied, and both of them laughed. It wasn't really funny, but the situation needed something. Something that would make them laugh rather than cry.

Lilly stopped laughing first and looked at Miley "Where does this leave us now?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Where do you want it to leave us?" Miley asked, purposely turning the question back because she was 100% unsure of the best thing to say and she didn't want to risk saying something that would make everything worse. She wanted Lilly to know she wanted to be friends again but she wasn't sure if she should or not.

Lilly turned away, muttering "I don't know" she stared up at the pure whit ceiling. "I- I'm sorry I had a go at you when you defended me at school the other day" she didn't give Miley the time to answer before continuing "It's so confusing. You know those stupid idealist people who say situations are only as complicated as you make them? That's such a load of rubbish, the complications come on their own without our input" she trailed off, "Sorry, that was going nowhere, I'm rambling. It's just I don't know what I want. I wish we could go back to before all of this happened and just be friends again like before, but it did happen and there's no undoing that. I want to be friends again, I miss you, that friendship so much. Oliver's great, I love him, I really do but he's not a girl best friend and I miss that. But I don't know if I can. I mean… everything is just so messed up. I don't even know if you'd want to be friends anymore 'cause-"

Miley had been listening carefully not wanting to interrupt Lilly but when it got to that bit she had too. "Of course I do."

Lilly blinked in shock, she'd been speaking exactly how she felt and it had become so rambly and natural that she almost forgot she was actually talking to Miley. She turned to Miley, eyes wide in shock. Miley's words had surprised her as well "Really?" she asked.

"Of course." Miley repeated "Did you really think I wouldn't?"

Lilly shrugged "I actually didn't know, I mean I assumed no because of everything and you're friends with Amber and Ashley and-"

"I'm not-"

Lilly didn't give her the chance to interrupt "And everything thinks I'm just the dorky cow who dumped Hannah Montana when the going got tough. I guess I just assumed you thought the same."

"Never assume, Lilly, that's what my Daddy always tells me. You never know what truth you may be missing" Miley replied "I don't think that, I never did, not really. I just… acted like I did which is definitely up there in most stupid things I've ever done. Yeah, pushing away, hurting, and turning people against the best friend I've ever had? Brilliant move, Miley Ray Stewart."

Lilly stayed quiet for a moment, trying to work out the best thing to say "But you're friends with Amber and Ashley. Even if I could just go back to being friend, which I can't by the way, it would so not be cool for you to be friends with me."

"That's what I wanted to say before" Miley said, going back to when Lilly hadn't given her the chance to interrupt. "I'm not friends with Amber and Ashley. They don't know the meaning of the word friendship. Even what they have isn't a friendship; Amber is a controlling bitch and Ashley just goes along with her because she thinks she had to. And as for me? I was just plain stupid to ever, even for a moment, think they'd want to be friends with _me. _No, I was a famous person who could higher their popularity and get them backstage at concerts. Not to mention introducing them to other celebrities and getting them into VIP parties. That was all they cared about. And you know" Miley trailed off and shook her head.

"What?" Lilly pushed.

"The worst part is on some level I was always aware of that and yet I did nothing about it." Miley replied. "It was so stupid."

"Maybe…" Lilly began uncertainly, not sure what she was going to suggest, but wanting to suggest something because she knew this needed to go somewhere and it currently wasn't. "Maybe we should try just… being… friendly?" she wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not "Like… not best friends but not hating each other?"

Miley nodded. The awkwardness had returned and neither of them were sure what to say after that. They sat in silence for a while, before Lilly's Mom came in, checking Lilly was all right and telling Miley she should probably go home and get some sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Miley found it steadily becoming more and more awkward talking with Amber and Ashley and others like them. She knew she wasn't a friend and she knew she didn't want to hang around them, but she also knew she couldn't just ignore them as if she'd never acted just like them. So Monday morning when she got to school, Miley forced a smile at Amber's greeting of "Hannah!" and joined in conversation when necessary while sorting out her locker for the first class.

She noticed Lilly as soon as she got to school. Being on crutches and struggling with her bag and controlling them it would have been hard not to notice. That and the fact that as soon as they saw her most people started laughing made it obvious. She sighed and left it was a moment, trying to work out if she was all right or not.

After a moment she walked over to Lilly, "Hey, let me help?" she said, forming it as a question because was unsure if Lilly would want her help or not.

"It's ok, I'm fine." Lilly replied, taking a couple more steps only for her bag to fall off her shoulder again and the main weight of it hit her cast leg. She winced quietly but otherwise ignored it.

"You're not fine, Lilly." Miley told her, trying to take her bag off her. Lilly let her with an annoyed sigh but Miley could tell she was annoyed at needed help rather than the fact that Miley was giving her help.

"Thanks…" Lilly said quietly, following as Miley started to walk to class.

"Hannah… _what _are you doing?" Amber asked, her eyebrow raised in amusement.

Miley turned to her, "I'm helping a friend who's hurt, the type of thing anyone would do. And FYI my name is _Miley. _I know that maybe hard for you but it's just too syllables. Mi-ley."

Amber ignored the last part focusing just on the friend part. "_She _isn't your friend, she's a two faced bitch remember?"

"Well you'd know all about that wouldn't you?" Lilly bit back before Miley had the chance to say anything.

"I was never a shallow cow who dumped my so-called best friend because suddenly everyone knew and you clearly wanted it to just be you who knew." Amber retorted.

"No, you're just a shallow bitch who decided she wanted to be best friends with the school dork because she found out she was a famous singer." Lilly said.

"Lillian Truscott, Amber Addison, Miley Stewart my room now!"

All three girls froze at the sound of Mrs Russet's voice and followed her into her classroom. They stood in front of her desk quietly as she delivered her rant about how East Northumberland High was a respectable school and wouldn't put up with such language in its hall ways and especially from young ladies.

As soon as she paused for breath the three of them tried to explain what happened but Mrs Russet simply raised a hand to stop them "I am not interesting in your teenager drama just sort it out and I don't want to hear that in the corridors. The three of you can join me for detention tonight after school." Before any of them had time to open their mouths she added "And no complaints or we'll make it for the whole week. Now get to class."

"You're better than her, Hannah." Amber muttered as they left Mrs Russet's classroom.

"My name is Miley and it's comments like that that prove that Lilly's a better person to be friends with that you ever were." Miley retorted, and changed directions to head to class.

"I don't need you standing up for me." Lilly told her once Amber was out of ear shot.

"I know," Miley replied, "but I've been such a cow for so long it's only fair I put it right."

Lilly smiled, "Thanks."

OG

Outside of the lessons the day consisted of Amber telling everyone who would listen that Hannah Montana was being friendly with that dork Lilly again and making every vain attempt to get Hannah to see sense and dumb Lilly.

Miley ignored it, and ignored everyone for the most part, until just after last lesson before detention. She walked up to the crowd Amber was in, not caring that she was interrupting "All right, listen up, I may be Hannah Montana and Hannah Montana may be a world famous pop star with amazing opportunities and adoring fans but have any of you actually listened to any of my songs?" she didn't wait for an answer "Best of Both Worlds was written for a reason, you know? I came to think school as Miley Stewart because that's who I am."

"You're-"

Miley took no notice of who was trying to interrupt "Best of Both Worlds explained what I wanted and what I got. School was normality while the stage was just amazing. And it's not just Best of Both Worlds, I bet none of you have ever even thought about my songs or anything." She laughed, just slightly, humourlessly, "And I bet this is pointless because none of you are probably even listening to me. But you know what? I don't care, 'cause Miley's used to no one in this school listening to her. And you know what? You can say whatever the hell you like about me as Miley, as Hannah, and who I'm friends with 'cause I don't care about that even, because at least I know Lilly was always friends with me for me and not for the perks like you lot tried to be."

A few comments were fired back at Miley but she ignored them and walked to detention.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Over the next few weeks Lilly was surprised at how quickly the school went back to treating Miley as Miley. The first few days were the worst, Amber and Ashley led groups trying to make Hannah 'see sense' and dumb Lilly, but Miley ignored them guessing correctly that if she ignored them in the end they'd get fed of trying. After a week Amber and Ashley gave up and went back to talking about Miley and Lilly as the school's biggest dorks.

"I never thought I'd be glad to be seen as the school's biggest dork." Miley told Lilly and Oliver one lunchtime as everything started to settle back into normality.

"Joint biggest," Oliver corrected her. "Can't be forgetting my girlfriend."

Lilly rolled her eyes, hiding a smile under fake annoyance "Thanks for that really feeling the love here."

Miley laughed slightly and Oliver looked at Lilly, a sorry expression on his face, "My apologies, milady" he picked up a fry and offered it to Lilly, "I give you this token and beg your forgiveness."

Lilly couldn't help but laugh. "And we're the dorks?" she commented taking the fry and eating it.

"I'm too cool to be a dork," Oliver replied smugly, leaning his chair back on two legs.

Lilly smirked and nodded to Miley. A moment late Miley pushed Oliver's chair back, leaving him on the floor looking mortified. Miley and Lilly shared a high-five, as Oliver stood back up glaring at them both. He didn't miss the odd look that passed between his girlfriend and friend. They both desperately wanted everything to go back to how it had been before but both still found it strange when things were normal. Still it was the starting steps they were both hoping for.

OG

"I wrote a new song." Lilly listened as Miley continued, her voice buzzing with excitement over the phone. "It's a duet for Hannah and Lola."

Lilly went into shock for a moment, sure she had heard Miley wrong, but Miley continued before she had a chance to comment on it.

"You're leaving with Oliver at the end of the year and I'm going to miss you like hell and I hate the fact that I messed up our friendship for so long. And I wanna make sure you know that I'll miss you but I'll always be on the end of the phone" Miley explained, "And the song's about that, it's called 'Wherever I go'. Come 'round and here it?"

Lilly managed to pull herself out of her shock, "I'll be there in 10 minutes." She replied, hung up and grabbed her skateboard, heading to the Stewart's house.

"Lilly! Lilly! Lilly!" Miley grabbed Lilly's arm the second she arrived, dragging her into the house and making her sit on the couch. "Here! Here! Here!" She passed Lilly a sheet of paper with the song lyrics on. "The pink is my parts and the purple is yours, the blue is both of us."

Lilly read the lyrics silently, giving them her full attention. A couple of tears fell down her cheeks as she did so.

Miley looked at her, worry written across her face, "Hey? Are you ok?"

Lilly nodded, "It's beautiful, Miles."

Miley smiled, "You think? Brilliant. Think you can sing it?"

"I'll give it a try." Lilly replied.

Miley picked up her guitar from beside the couch and ran through it with Lilly. The pair spent the next couple of hours practising and perfecting it. Once it was right, Miley looked at Lilly.

"I want Lola to sing with Hannah." She said, watching the shock set in on Lilly's voice. "I want you and me to go on that stage as best friends and just show they world what we've got. Both of us."

Lilly didn't answer for a while, not sure whether to tell Miley she was crazy or to agree.

"Please say yes," Miley added when she saw Lilly wasn't going to answer, "It'll be brilliant."

"I've never sung in front of a large audience," Lilly reasoned, "The Homecoming dance was nothing compared to one of your dances. And your fans won't want me on the stage with you."

"My fans will be stoked to have another great singer on the stage with me," Miley disagreed. "And you'd be fine. Just do what I did when I was new to it and terrified, find someone in the audience, either someone you know or someone who's near the front of something, and just focus on them, pretend you're just singing to that one person as if everyone else isn't there."

"I'm not sure." Lilly replied, the uncertainty and fear written on her face.

"I'm not going to force you into it, but I can guarantee it would be amazing."

"When?" Lilly asked.

"Tomorrow." Miley replied.

Lilly gaped at her, "Tomorrow?"

"Means you don't have much time to talk yourself out of it if you say yes now?" Miley pointed her, her expression the picture of innocence. Lilly rolled her eyes and Miley continued "I was thinking about not telling you until tomorrow morning but I didn't think you'd appreciate that much short notice."

"No, not really," Lilly agreed. "If I stuff up I'll look like a complete idiot."

"You won't stuff up, you're an amazing singer and you know how to present yourself on the stage, you'll be fine. You'll be more than fine, you'll be amazing."

Lilly sighed and smiled, "All right, but if this goes wrong I'm blaming you."

"I can live with that," Miley responded, grinning all over her face.

OG

"_Here we are now  
Everything is about to change  
We face tomorrow as we say goodbye to yesterday  
A chapter ending but the stories only just begun  
A page is turning for everyone"_

The first verse was Lilly's, and she sung it flawlessly, on stage next to Miley as Hannah, in the bright blue wig which showed her to be Lola. She had meant what she said, she thought the lyrics were beautiful and even from the beginning them explained what was going on in her and Miley's lives. She continued singing feeling Miley singing along beside her for the chorus

So I'm moving on  
Letting go  
Holding on to tomorrow  
I've always got the memories while I'm finding out who I'm gonna be  
We might be apart but I hope you always know  
You'll be with me wherever I go  
Wherever I go

There was great comfort in this chorus for both Miley and Lilly. They knew that the majority of people listening to it would probably never think about the words and the meaning behind them but it had a great meaning to them and they knew, really, that was all that mattered.

Lilly kept a smile on her face as Miley took away the second verse

So excited I can barely even catch my breath  
WE have each other to lean on for the road ahead  
This happy ending is the start of all our dreams  
And I know your heart is with me

Lilly couldn't help but think those words summed up the mixed emotions about change, it was exciting but often the familiarity of old friends was still needed to make it all ok and worthwhile. She sung her heart out with Miley for the second chorus, almost forgetting that she was on stage in front of thousands of Hannah Montana fans.

So I'm moving on  
Letting go  
Holding on to tomorrow  
I've always got the memories while I'm finding out who I'm gonna be  
We might be apart but I hope you always know  
You'll be with me wherever I go

They continued together for the third, final and what Lilly believed was the most powerful verse:

It's time to show the world we've got something to say  
A song to sing out loud we'll never fade away  
I know I'll miss you but we'll meet again someday  
We'll never fade away

It spoke of the way a song never really ended and how, in many ways, their friendship was like that. And it spoke of Miley standing up against Amber and Ashley and choosing her friendship with Lilly instead.

Lilly swallowed, stopping the lump in her throat from affecting her voice as her and Miley repeated the chorus twice to end the song. The second they finished the audience erupted into applause and cheers, Miley pulls Lilly into a quick hug and whispered "Told you they'd love it."

Lilly looked back out over the audience, mesmerised by the number and the positive feedback they were giving and smiled broadly.

**A/N: It's been forever before this update, sorry. I had Doctor Who fanfics on the go which I had more inspiration for and this sort of got pushed to the back. I know the way I've written Miley and Lilly singing Wherever I Go isn't how they actually sing it but it was easier for the purpose of this chapter. Hope you like it, please R&R? Ly'all.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Lilly was surprised how quickly the final month of school went and she was more surprised by how chocked up the thought of leaving made her. She wanted to go and she was so excited about touring with Oliver but she was shocked when she realised how much she was going to miss East Northumberland High. So much had happened at that school both good and bad and never going there again would be such a major difference to her life.

Still, she thought as she packed the final of her stuff into a suitcase, she was going with the guy she loved, travelling for music. It was going to be fantastic, it would be worth it. She picked up her suitcase, and carried it downstairs to put with the rest of her stuff.

"Ready for this?" her Mom asked as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Lilly smiled, "Definitely."

Her Mom pulled her into a hug, "Make sure you call me regularly and let me know how it's going."

"I will, Mom, I promise."

"I'm going to miss you, Lil" her Mom told her.

"I'll miss you too," Lilly admitted.

Miley arrived a few minutes later ready to see Lilly off, "I can't believe you're going." She said, tears lining her eyes, "Dang it, I promised myself I wouldn't cry."

"You better not!" Lilly told her, "Or you'll start me off."

"Don't lose touch." Miley said.

"As if I could" Lilly told her, "I'm gonna be texting you so often you'll be fed up of me."

"I'll hold you to that." Miley told her.

A horn beep outside causing all three of them to jump.

"Oliver's here!" Lilly announced, jumping up and down excitedly before stopping suddenly, "oh, my god this is really happening, like, right now."

"Don't go getting nervous now, Lilly," Miley told her, "You just go out there and show the world how great you are."

"The world?" Lilly laughed slightly, "We're touring the state."

"First stop Cali, next stop the world." Miley told her, "That's how it'll go."

"We'll see."

"It will, trust me on this."

Oliver opened the door and came him, "Your chariot waits." He announced, grinning at Lilly.

Lilly laughed, and her Mom started to carry her stuff onto the tour bus for her. Miley pulled both Oliver and Lilly into a hug, "Now remember, I want to hear about every new song, everything bit of drama than happened, I swear I want to know everything." She looked between the two seriously, "_Everything. _And if I find out something happened which I didn't know about I'm not going to be happy."

"Yes, Ma'am." Oliver agreed.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," Miley told them, "School's not going to be the same without you, you know that?"

Oliver smiled smugly, "Of course we know, it's going to be a boring hell without us to make your day interesting."

Miley rolled her eyes, "Yeah, pretty much." She laughed. She pulled out of the hug, "Anyway you two should get off, don't want you missing your bus."

Lilly and Oliver smiled before heading towards the bus.

"Oh and guys, when my next televised concert is on? Do me a favour and watch it?" Miley added, causing both to turn around and look at her questioningly but she didn't say anything more about it. "And make sure you have fun."

OG

Oliver and Lilly did as Miley asked and watched Hannah Montana's next televised concert, and through the first set of songs they couldn't understand why she'd told them to. Then she introduced the final song:

"I've got a new song for y'all tonight," she told the audience and the world, "I wrote it about something that happened recently and what I learnt from it. And I want to dedicate it to my friend Lola and Mike, they couldn't be here with me tonight, but I know wherever they are they'll understand it. It's called Ordinary Girl."

Lilly and Oliver exchanged a quick glance before turning back to the screen to listen and watch Miley:

Uhoo oh yeah,  
La da a da

Don't get me wrong,  
I love who I am  
I don't wanna be ungrateful  
It probably sounds strange  
I really love the role I play  
The songs I sing  
But with all the fame  
The things that seem so simple,  
suddenly, so far out of reach  
Wish that they could see that underneath...  
I'm just an ordinary girl!

Lilly couldn't help but smile at the lyrics, Miley was right they did get it, how could they not. It explained so well how out of touch Miley had got but how she was still Miley.

Sometimes I'm lazy  
I get bored  
I get scared  
I feel ignored  
I feel happy, I get silly  
I choke on my own words  
I make wishes, I have Dreams  
And I still want to believe  
Anything can happen in this world,  
For an ordinary girl  
(Like you, Like me)  
For an ordinary girl  
(Like you, Like me)

On stage, Miley knew that outside of her family, Lilly and Oliver would probably be the only people who would even begin to understand the meaning behind this song. She knew most people would assume that everything was great for a famous teenager. But that was ok because Lilly and Oliver understood.

How are you?  
Hello, Good-bye  
One day here, One day there  
And again it's time to go  
Miss popular always on the road  
Put my best foot forward  
Gotta get on with the show  
Strike a pose for the front cover of a magazine  
Everywhere I arrive, I get high-5's  
They paint me larger than life  
(Yeaheaaaa)  
I'm just an ordinary girl

She had never thought about being famous as being a bad thing until the secret came out at home. She still didn't see it completely as a bad thing, she still loved her life, but she wanted to express how it wasn't always as fantastic as it seemed.

Sometimes I'm lazy  
I get bored  
I get scared  
I feel ignored (Yeah)  
I feel happy, I get silly  
I choke on my own words  
I make wishes, I have Dreams  
And I still want to believe  
Anything can happen in this world,  
For an ordinary girl

She thought it was quite ironic how most people dreamt of being famous but she dreamt of being seen as the ordinary girl she was singing about.

So give it everything or nothin' at all  
Get back on your feet when  
You stumble and fall  
A little luck can go a long way  
So don't you worry about what people say  
Who knows when the wind may blow  
For an ordinary girl..(Mmmm)  
I'm just an ordinary girl

She'd thought about Lilly when she wrote about luck, she knew she was so lucky to have a friend like her, she was so lucky to have the life she had, she was so lucky with everything. And she wanted to get the message out to her fans, even if, like most people at her school, they weren't actually listening to her lyrics, that it didn't matter what people thought it was just about being yourself.

Sometimes I'm lazy  
I get bored  
I get scared  
I feel ignored  
I feel happy, I get silly  
I choke on my own words  
I make wishes, I have Dreams  
And I still want to believe  
Anything can happen in this world,  
For an ordinary girl  
(Like you, Like me)  
(Yeah)  
For an ordinary girl  
(Like you, Like me)  
For an ordinary girl  
(Mmmmm)  
For an ordinary girl  
Like me, like you...

Lilly couldn't keep the smile off her face by the time Miley came to the end of her song. She knew now without any doubt what she was almost sure of before; Miley was still the same Miley. Everything was still going to be exactly the same. She had her best friend back.

**The End**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed especially those who have stuck with me since I started Homecoming Queen.**


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